CN National Soccer League Season 23
CN National Soccer League Season 23 ran from December 16, 2015 to March 18, 2016. The CN National Soccer League was established on December 4, 2015 as a renamed replacement for the Nordreich Liga which had operated for 22 seasons from September 2009 until December 2015. After the resignation and departure of Botha, the ruler of Transvaal, from the Nordreich Alliance on October 4, 2015, the commissioner announced that the Nordreich Liga would have a name change after the conclusion of Season XXII and become the CN National Soccer League (CN-NSL). While the CN National Soccer League continued the historical continuity and heritage of the Nordreich Liga in regards to league standings and championships, new cup tournaments were inaugurated to also give the CN-NSL some distance from its Nordreich roots. The same eight teams which had competed in the final season of the Nordreich Liga made the transition to the CN-NSL for Season 23: Dorpat Lions, Golden Valley FC, Hells Cargo, Kaapstad Hornets, Vinland Berserkers, Zeller Athletic, Zemo City Avengers, and Zharr Nagrund Ziggurats. On January 21, 2016, an agreement was made between the league commissioners of the CN National Soccer League and League of Legends to merge the NSL into the latter league at the conclusion of both leagues' seasons. Final Standings Regular Season NSL Division 1 Statistics Leaders All-Star Team Team of the Month Award Retirements & Departures insert text Notable Transfers *'Theodor Normstedt' - transferred from Zemo City Avengers for $1,800,000 to Kaapstad Hornets on January 30, 2016. League MVP *'Egon Maalepp' (Zemo City Avengers) Career Milestones 300 games *'Egon Maalepp' (Zemo City Avengers) played in his 300th career match on December 30, 2015 *'Hendrik van Schou' (Kaapstad Hornets) played in his 300th career match on February 10, 2016 200 games *'Bruno Balsini' (Golden Valley FC) played in his 200th career match on December 26, 2015 *'Mortimer Vassell' (Golden Valley FC) played in his 200th career match on January 2, 2016 *'Egon Int' (Dorpat Lions) played in his 200th career match on January 6, 2016 *'Aloísio Durval' (Golden Valley FC) played in his 200th career match on January 16, 2016 Manager of the Season Zemo City Avengers manager BaronZemo regained the Manager of the Season Award in style after a one season hiatus when he was dethroned the previous season by Manager TiffCab (Zharr Nagrund Ziggurats). Dominating all season, by the 11th week of the regular season he had the X11 Manager title all locked up and finished with a total of 8 weeks won out of a possible 14. Archer1234 (Vinland Berserkers) finished in a distant 2nd place with 3 X11 Manager selections, an early season challenger but then was unable to keep place with the Avengers juggernaut. TiffCab (Zharr Nagrund Ziggurats) finished in 3rd place with a pair of X11 Manager selections while Zellt01 (Zeller Athletic) brought up the rear with a lone selection. National Cup I Quarter-Finals Matches played on December 19 and December 26, 2015 *Zemo City Avengers defeated Vinland Berserkers (3-2; 3-0) *Golden Valley FC defeated Dorpat Lions (3-1; 2-2) *Zeller Athletic defeated Kaapstad Hornets (2-1; 2-2) *Zharr Nagrund Ziggurats defeated Hells Cargo (1-2; 4-0) Semi-Finals Matches played on January 2 and January 9, 2016 *Zemo City Avengers defeated Zharr Nagrund Ziggurats (0-4; 7-0) *Golden Valley FC defeated Zeller Athletic (3-0; 1-2) National Cup I Finals Matches played on January 16 and January 23, 2016 *Zemo City Avengers defeated Golden Valley FC (0-1; 4-1) NSL Final Cup Quarter-Finals Matches played on February 6 and February 13, 2016 *Zharr Nagrund Ziggurats defeated Kaapstad Hornets (4-0; 4-1) *Dorpat Lions defeated Hells Cargo (4-1; 3-1) *Zemo City Avengers defeated Vinland Berserkers (2-0; 2-0) *Zeller Athletic defeated Golden Valley FC (1-0; 2-0) Semi-Finals Matches played on February 20 and February 27, 2016 *Zemo City Avengers defeated Dorpat Lions (2-0; 3-0) *Zharr Nagrund Ziggurats defeated Zeller Athletic (5-2; 3-3) Open Cup Finals Matches played on March 5 and March 12, 2016 *Zemo City Avengers defeated Zharr Nagrund Ziggurats (2-3; 6-0) Press Releases JANUARY 30, 2016 - Normstedt blockbuster transfer in NSL With the Kaapstad Hornets losing the services of their newest captain, Heinrich Heinz, at the conclusion of the current National Soccer League season, Manager Bartnel Botha decided this week to make a bold move in fortifying the midfield. Foregoing the club's tradition route of developing from within, Manager Botha decided to make a bid for Zemo City Avengers' legendary superstar Theodor Normstedt. The Avengers agreed to Kaapstad's offer of $1,800,000 and the 35-year-old veteran joined his new teammates on Saturday afternoon. As Manager Botha explained to the press after the deal was announced: "When we heard that Zemo City was beginning to make roster moves in preparation for the move into the League of Legends, we decided to see if the Avengers would bite at a reasonable offer. Everyone in this league knows of Normstedt and what he has done in building a constant winning spirit for the Avengers. We felt that his days playing this level of football were not yet done, so we opened negotiations with the Zemo City management and club directors." "I am confident in believing that both sides are pleased with the outcome of this deal, as Zemo City is able to make the moves they are looking to make for the future - while they are also in good conscience knowing that Normstedt hasn't been forced out of the game just quite yet." "The general opinion of the Kaapstad board of directors is that we can get two full seasons out of the 35-year-old, then it will be money well spent. Along with losing Heinz at the end of this season, we are anticipating Hendrik van Schou will be hanging up his cleats very shortly as well - most likely at the end of next season." "Normstedt will help mentor up and coming players like Florence and Mella - who all require just a little more seasoning and tutoring before stepping into full-time starting roles. Meanwhile, starters like Ngassam and Winfield, who were both thrown into starting role perhaps a little too early, will also benefit from the veteran superstar's winning wisdom and ways." Team Pages *Kaapstad Hornets